McDonald’s can’t meet its 2030 emissions targets

McDonald’s didn’t meet a key environmental goal last year and won’t meet another one by 2030, saying that factors beyond its control are keeping the company from meeting those targets.

But the Chicago-based fast-food giant said it plans to invest $1 billion over the next decade on “supply chain resilience” and it also plans to keep a long-term zero emissions target.

McDonald’s said that it met 95.8% of its goal to use nothing but renewable, recycled or certified materials in its packaging by the end of 2025.

Packaging goals met

That’s “a big deal,” Jon Banner, global chief impact officer and Warren Anderson, global chief supply chain officer, said in a statement posted to the company’s website last week. “And we’re proud of the work behind it.”

Yet they said that much of the industry hasn’t moved at the same pace and that global regulations still treat packaging made with recycled materials the same as those made with fossil fuel-based materials. That has kept it from reaching its full goal.

Emissions targets missed

The company also said that it won’t meet some key emissions targets by 2030, saying that global events are preventing that from happening. Reducing emissions from franchised restaurants, suppliers, agriculture and land use, logistics and energy systems “is influenced by factors that extend well beyond any single company’s operations.”

In many regions, Banner and Anderson said, energy demand is growing beyond the speed of clean energy expansion. In addition, “Global supply chains remain extremely fragile as they navigate long-lasting impacts of global events and geopolitical disruptions.”

McDonald’s plans to focus on improving energy efficiency and investing in renewable energy. The $1 billion in expected system investments will support regenerative agriculture and landscape solutions for key commodities as well as programs that support farmers.

The company still plans to have net zero emissions by 2050, despite the challenges toward that goal.

McDonald’s established a set of environmental targets, including the net zero goal, in 2021. The company did it at a time when many of its rivals, and other businesses, pledged to improve their track record on the environment.

The chain has taken numerous steps to accomplish these goals, such as investments to cut the use of fossil fuel-based plastics in Happy Meal toys while more restaurants offer recycling.

Some high-profile companies have walked back their environmental commitments, but according to Harvard Business Review most companies have kept those commitments in place.